Songs that were playing when people woke from comas

It’s not proven that certain songs can roust people in comas, but doctors say it may help, and it can’t hurt.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
December 23, 2024 at 1:01PM
The Rolling Stones perform in Houston in May 2024. The Stones are one band whose music has been played to help comatose patients return to consciousness. Doctors say it's not proven that music can cause people to roust from a coma, but given the low risks involved it may be worth trying. (Amy Harris/The Associated Press)

Minneapolis resident Dylan Bode woke from a coma in March, moving rhythmically to Coldplay music, including the hit song “Yellow,” being played in his hospital room. While the science is uncertain on whether music can help bring people out of prolonged unconsciousness, others have made this connection.

Here’s a quick list of experiences similar to Bode’s:, plus a playlist of these invigorating songs to listen to while you read:

* The Rolling Stones’ “I Can’t Get No (Satisfaction)” was the first single that Sam Carter, 60, bought, and it was playing when he emerged from a coma after 10 weeks in 2008.

* Green Day’s “American Idiot” reportedly did the trick in 2005 for Corey George, 9, who had been unconscious and on life support for two weeks. He was alert and moving fingers and toes an hour after the song played.

* Adele’s hit “Rolling in the Deep” was playing in 2012 in the room of Charlette Neve, 7, who was unconscious after a brain injury but reportedly smiled when her mother started singing along.

* “Livin’ on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi reportedly rousted David Hassall after a car crash left him in a coma in 1996.

* “Unchained Melody” by the Righteous Brothers played at Maria Neal’s wedding and when the 48-year-old woke from a coma in 2014.

* Charlie Daniels’ “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” was played repeatedly for Jarrett Carland during a coma that lasted four months in 2009 and is credited with aiding his recovery from injuries suffered in a car accident.

* PSY’s “Gangnam Style” received credit for helping 10-year-old Ying Nan emerge from a vegetative state that had lasted more than 250 days in 2015 as a result of bleeding in the brain.

about the writer

about the writer

Jeremy Olson

Reporter

Jeremy Olson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering health care for the Star Tribune. Trained in investigative and computer-assisted reporting, Olson has covered politics, social services, and family issues.

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